Vans Cup at Tahoe

VANS CUP AT TAHOE BRINGS THE WORLD’S BEST SNOWBOARDERS TO NORTHSTAR-AT-TAHOE™ RESORT FEBRUARY 29 TO MARCH 2
Andreas Wiig, Danny Kass and Hana Beaman Among the Stars to Compete with $200,000 at stake for West Coast’s Biggest Snowboard Contest

TRUCKEE, Calif. - Feb. 11, 2008 - The 4th Annual Vans Cup at Tahoe comes to Northstar-at-Tahoe™  Resort February 29 - March 2 with a field including nearly all of snowboarding’s brightest stars: former Olympians Danny Kass, Mason Aguirre, Ross Powers and J.J. Thomas, plus other greats including Todd Richards, Andreas Wiig, Chad Otterstrom, Andy Finch, Leanne Pelosi and Hana Beaman.  While the weekend is considered the most important professional snowboarding competition on the West Coast with a total prize purse of more than $200,000, each year the snowboard world descends upon Northstar-at-Tahoe for the great snow and laid back atmosphere that Vans serves up. 

For those that can’t be on mountain, Vans and Sportnet are teaming up to present live webcasts of the event at www.vans.com.  Look for plenty of photos and live updates at www.vans.com.  The Vans Cup at Tahoe television special will also debut on the FUEL TV in two one-hour shows with times and dates to be announced.

The Vans Cup kicks off Friday night under the lights with defending Rail Jam champs Lucas Magoon and Erin Comstock headlining a field of top jibbers in a jam session.  Action continues Saturday with Wiig and Beaman leading the names in the Slopestyle comp and caps off on Sunday with the Superpipe finals in which Kass and Tahoe local Joanie Anderson are sure to be factors.  In a new twist to the ‘pipe, the highest soaring boarders will win big bucks by claiming the Boosted High Air awards.

The event, which is free with the purchase of a lift ticket, and open to the public, is sure to draw a huge crowd to Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort.  Those who are not riding or skiing can stop by the event office for a free gondola pass.

Schedule
Friday, February 29                               
5:00 PM – 6:45 PM          Rail Jam (live webcast at www.vans.com)

Saturday, March 1
8:30 AM – 11:30 AM        Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle Qualifying
11:30 PM – 3:00 PM         Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle FINALS

Sunday, March 2
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM         Men’s and Women’s Superpipe Qualifying               
12:30 PM – 4:00 PM         Men’s and Women’s Superpipe FINALS (live webcast)

Invited riders include: (attendance not confirmed)

Guys:  Danny Kass, Andreas Wiig, Antti Autti, Keir Dillon, Iouri Podlatchikov, Steve Fisher, Michael Goldschmidt, Tommy Czeschin, Wyatt Caldwell, Chad Otterstrom, Ross Powers, J.J. Thomas, Elijah Teter, Scotty Arnold, Mike Casanova, Chris Coulter, Darrell Mathes, Todd Richards, Markus Keller, Eddie Wall, Andy Finch and many more.

Ladies:  Joanie Anderson, Tricia Byrnes, Torah Bright, Molly Aguire, Hana Beaman, Erin Comstock, Laura Hadar, Leanne Pelosi, Silvia Mittermueller, Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas, Amber Stackhouse, Kimmy Fasani, Anne-Flore Marxer, Priscilla Levac, Alexis Waite, Natasza Zurek, Jacqui Berg and more.

In Transworld Snowboarding's 2007-08 Reader’s Poll, Northstar™ Resort ranked in the nation’s top six for parks, pipes and overall snowboard resort.  All of the Vans Tahoe Cup courses will be built by Northstar Resort’s renowned terrain park designers led by Chris "Gunny" Gunnarson and Frank Wells from Snow Park Technologies (SPT).  SPT has designed and constructed courses and parks for some of the biggest snowboard events worldwide, including ESPN's Winter X Games, the World Championships of Snowboarding, Japan Slopestyle, and Burton 's U.S. Open and European Open.

The Vans Cup at Tahoe is made possible by the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Boost Mobile, Pro-tec,Snowboarder Magazine, Sportnet and FUEL TV, the 24/7 action sports lifestyle network.  Each will represent at the vendor area that will include games and giveaways plus Vans and Pro-tec product demos including a preview of next season’s Vans x Boosted snow outerwear collaboration.

For more information on Vans and the Vans Cup at Tahoe, visit www.vans.com.